"If the gelatin is properly chilled, it will resist the Twinkies. You will push them in; they will slowly rise. It is a tense moment, like the scene in Psycho when Tony Perkins tries to sink Janet Leigh's car."

"But there's tacos, Randy. You know how I feel about tacos. It's the only food shaped like a smile....A beef smile." --Earl (Jason Lee), from "My Name is Earl", Episode: South of the Border Part Uno, Season 2

I made a trial batch of John Thorne's this weekend and while I crave it, I'm realizing that mac and cheese doesn't really like ME!

For those of you interested, Thorne's is incredibly creamy (I used a mix of medium cheddar and colby jack, as others have commented that sharp cheddar doesn't work as well.)

But it's really overwhelming and needs additional shakes of tabasco on the top to counteract said creaminess. I might normally stay in the contest and mess with it (add a crumb topping or some such), but I'm currently overwhelmed with Xmas baking and unable to muster enthusiasm for experimentation.

A thousand pardons....

Megan

(Have you looked outside lately? Cripes, I opened the door to let the dog out, and in a mere 20 minutes it had turned from a typical wet, green yard into a winter wonderland. This report comes to you from a hill in West Seattle!)

"If the gelatin is properly chilled, it will resist the Twinkies. You will push them in; they will slowly rise. It is a tense moment, like the scene in Psycho when Tony Perkins tries to sink Janet Leigh's car."

"If the gelatin is properly chilled, it will resist the Twinkies. You will push them in; they will slowly rise. It is a tense moment, like the scene in Psycho when Tony Perkins tries to sink Janet Leigh's car."

We had a great time at Union tonight! I liked many of the mac n cheeses that we tried...I particularly liked #1 (it had lots of breadcrumbs and blue cheese), #2 (with Cheez-its, pumpkin seeds, and jalapenos...it was very creative and tasty), and #11 (a green chilli mac n cheese.)

We were so surprised we won (I couldn't help screaming ) because I just improvised on measurements as we were cooking in the late afternoon. I was also kind of afraid the cheeses we chose would be too strong for some, but I'm so happy people enjoyed it!

I also liked #11 (Lauren's green chile version), and my other favorites included 3, 4, and 5. 3 was Rocky's, featuring Lil Smokies , and if I heard correctly, the super-cheesy #5 was made by Ethan Stowell. It was interesting to learn that people do not have at all the same taste in mac and cheese; some that I was indifferent to were loved by others at my table, and I didn't vote for any of the three winners. (SORRY, Henry and Lorna!)

While I think many people bypassed them completely, Neil and I tasted each of the delicious cookies served at the end of the contest, in the interests of research (yes, there was a surprise appearance by nightscotsman): brownies, two kinds of chocolate cookies, molasses cookies, and cranberry squares. I am sure the cranberry was Dorie Greenspan's Cranberry Upside-Downer, which I tasted at Judy's on Thanksgiving. Having enjoyed this cake twice now, I highly recommend the recipe (from her new book).

Yeah, it was interesting to see how people's tastes differed! The table of guys behind us seemed to be taking the competition very seriously...they each ate all 14 varieties, and then one guy got a plate of the "finalists" they had decided on, and they went through tasting each "finalist" again, discussing them and making notes.

I think I really liked #1 because it was probably the 2nd stinkiest/most pungent mac n cheese on the table that night. (I think ours was probably the stinkiest/heaviest, so I'm sure that turned some people off!) Also, #1 had a lot of breadcrumbs, which I absolutely love, although our two friends who were eating with us thought it had a bit too much breadcrumb, and didn't vote for it.

That was a lot of fun, note to self do not bring two kids to event again until they're older, I don't know how you guys with kids do it all the time. I think a common theme of discussion was how many of the macs, including mine, weren't as moist as intended by the time they were served and the factors that played into that. things like scaling recipes up and the extra time reheating, though the scaling thing isn't really an excuse for me since I'm not a recipe kind of person. I can't remember which one was which but there were some really good macs and cheeses. Congrats to Lorna and Henry by the way!

Rocky

You are my Solberg, my Petter Solberg, you make me happy when skies are gray, through ice and gravel, flat out you travel, please keep (insert foe here) away .... Song of the Petter Solberg Fan Club